Popular boy group SMAP member Nakai Masahiro has failed to answer questions about a massive settlement he paid recently to a woman who’s accused him of sexual assault. In the absence of clear answers, Japanese TV stations are removing him from the air bit by bit.
It came to light last week that Nakai had paid 90 million yen (USD $570K) in a private legal settlement. The figure raised eyebrows as it’s a staggering amount of money for such lawsuits in Japan. (Sexual assault victims often get far less.)
Nakai and his lawyer, however, have failed to provide any explanation, despite even ardent fans of the former Johnny’s Entertainment unit calling for answers.
Now, it seems Japanese TV stations are rendering their own judgment. Sponichi Annex reports that a TBS broadcast on January 10th of Nakai Masahiro no Kinyoubi no Sumairutachi e Shinshun SP has been replaced on the station’s schedule with a re-airing of a 2021 movie starring Suda Masaki.
The show, known by its short name of Kinsuma, has been Nakai’s staple TV variety talk show program since 2001.
Another variety program, Nakai Masahiro no Doyoubi no Kai, the star’s Saturday variety show, which has aired since 2019 on TV Asahi, has also been removed from that station’s schedule. The schedule now shows “TBD” for the January 11th 11:30am time slot.
TBS refused to comment on why they’d changed the schedule.
The move isn’t universal, however. The four-hour special of NTV’s Za! Sekai Gyouten Nyuusu, hosted by Nakai, is still planned to air this Tuesday, the 7th.
Online Japanese commenters seem to think the creeping cancellations are a sign that Nakai is cooked. Others have said that there are other rumors swirling around Nakai’s behavior in the industry and wouldn’t be surprised if even more damning reports drop soon.
The incident taints SMAP’s otherwise stellar reputation as a “clean” boy band that’s regarded as a national treasure. The group disbanded in 2016, with its members now pursuing solo careers.
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